After defeating the Forgotten Guardian, the two continued deeper into the labyrinth.
The ancient corridor stretched onward, illuminated by rows of pale blue mana torches fixed to the stone walls. Aside from the occasional sound of their footsteps, the labyrinth remained eerily silent.
Neither of them lowered their guard.
Several minutes later, the corridor widened once again. Another intersection appeared before them. Just like before, four separate passageways branched off in different directions.
Noah looked from one tunnel to another before letting out a helpless sigh. "Damn...This really does feel like a maze." Damien said with irritation.
Every corridor looked exactly the same.
"Well, because it is one."
The walls. The floor. Even the torches. There wasn’t a single landmark that could help distinguish one path from another.
Damien folded his arms and stared at the four routes.
"Hmm..."
After only a few seconds, he pointed toward the second passage.
"We’re taking this one."
Noah raised an eyebrow.
"Your intuition again?"
Damien grinned proudly.
"Exactly."
Noah simply shrugged.
"I’ll trust it."
The two walked toward the second passage.
Damien stepped forward first.
The moment his foot landed inside—
Click.
A faint mechanical sound echoed beneath him.
"Huh?"
Damien instinctively looked down.
The stone beneath his feet suddenly split apart.
Rumble!
The floor collapsed without warning.
Damien’s eyes widened.
"Oh, shi—!"
He completely lost his balance and began falling into the darkness below.
Fortunately, Noah reacted instantly. He lunged forward and grabbed Damien’s wrist just before he disappeared into the pit.
His boots dug into the stone floor as he braced himself against the sudden weight.
"Got you."
Damien looked up in surprise. For a brief moment, relief washed across his face.
Noah stood firmly at the edge of the pit while holding onto him with one hand.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
He opened his mouth, ready to say,
"Saved you, brother—"
Before he could finish—
Click!
Another mechanism activated.
Noah’s expression instantly changed.
"Dammit!"
From hidden openings within both walls.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Dozens of arrows shot toward them at terrifying speed.
Each arrow shimmered with mana, making them far deadlier than ordinary projectiles.
There was no time to dodge. Noah immediately yanked Damien upward with all his strength.
At the same time, he thrust his free hand forward.
Mana erupted from his core.
Crack!
A massive wall of solid ice burst from the ground directly in front of them.
The arrows struck it a heartbeat later.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The mana-coated arrows slammed into the ice with tremendous force.
Cracks spread rapidly across its surface.
Some arrows even embedded themselves halfway through the wall.
The barrage continued for several seconds before finally coming to an end.
Silence returned.
The ice wall was covered in countless fractures, barely holding together.
Noah slowly let out the breath he had been holding.
"...That was close."
Damien climbed fully onto solid ground before looking at the shattered trap beneath them.
Then he turned toward Noah with an awkward smile.
"Heh... I owe you one."
Noah rolled his eyes.
"You definitely do."
Damien scratched the back of his head before laughing.
"Thanks, brother. If you hadn’t reacted that quickly, I’d probably still be at the bottom of that pit."
Noah glanced toward the dark hole before muttering,
"And I almost got turned into a porcupine trying to save you."
Damien laughed even harder.
"Well at least we’re both still alive... hehe what am I even saying. This level of danger cannot kill us."
Noah sighed helplessly.
"Let’s be more careful from now on. The labyrinths have more traps and ability to confused a person. And less monsters."
"Yes. Let’s go to fourth passage."
Damien started walking again as though nothing had happened.
Noah stared at him in disbelief.
The guy hadn’t even taken a minute to think before choosing another path.
"...Unbelievable."
He let out a helpless sigh and followed after him.
Not that he had a better method of choosing the correct route.
This time, however, they proceeded far more cautiously.
Before taking a single step into the corridor, Noah formed a solid ball of ice in his palm.
"Ice Creation."
He tossed it forward.
The ice sphere bounced across the stone floor several times.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Nothing happened.
No hidden mechanisms activated.
No arrows flew from the walls.
No floor collapsed beneath it.
"It looks safe," Noah said.
Damien nodded.
"Let’s move."
The two cautiously advanced through the passage.
Click.
Click.
Only their footsteps echoed through the silent corridor.
After walking for a while, Damien suddenly broke the silence.
"Noah."
"Hm?"
Noah turned his head.
"What is it?"
Damien hesitated for a moment before asking, "...Do you still love Ophelia?"
Noah almost stumbled.
"The hell? Where did that come from?"
Damien scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Well... I didn’t know anything about what happened before in detail. But after everything that happened during the semester, I asked Master Morgana. She told me the whole story."
He looked at Noah with a sympathetic expression.
"So... you really loved her."
He paused briefly.
"I was just wondering if you still felt the same."
Since he had been staying within the Thornveil Duchy for the past week, hearing Ophelia’s name from local people had naturally reminded him of Noah.
Noah remained silent for a few seconds.
Then he calmly shook his head.
"No. I don’t. My heart beats for someone else now."
Damien blinked in surprise.
He had genuinely felt sorry for Noah after learning the truth behind his exile. He had assumed Noah was still carrying those feelings. And tries to tease Arisha and Lyria just for fun.
Apparently...
He had been completely wrong.
"So you’ve already moved on?"
"Yes."
Damien’s curiosity immediately took over. A mischievous grin spread across his face.
"So... Who is she?"
He leaned closer.
"Is it Lyria? Or Arisha?"
Those were the only two girls Damien had ever seen Noah spending time with.
"No."
Noah answered immediately.
"Neither of them."
Damien looked even more surprised.
"Really? Then who? Come on, tell me! I might even help you."
A faint smirk appeared on Noah’s face.
"Sure. I think you’re exactly the right person to ask for help."
Damien puffed out his chest proudly.
"See? I knew it. So who is she?"
Noah looked straight at him before replying with a perfectly serious expression.
"Instructor Morgana."
Damien’s smile froze.
"...What?"
His eyes widened.
Before he could even process those words.
THUD!
The entire corridor shook violently.
Both young men immediately turned toward the source of the sound. From the darkness ahead...
A massive stone figure slowly emerged.
Its body was covered in cracks, thick moss clung to its shoulders, and blue flames burned within its hollow eye sockets.
Another Forgotten Guardian.
Damien immediately drew his sword.
"Oh. Another one."
He grinned confidently.
"Let’s kill it quickly. We can continue this conversation afterward."
Noah nodded.
"Agreed."
However just as they prepared to charge. Another heavy footstep echoed through the corridor.
THUD!
A second Forgotten Guardian stepped out from the darkness behind the first.
THUD!
A third.
A moment later.
THUD!
A fourth.
The narrow corridor suddenly became filled with towering stone guardians.
Four Forgotten Guardians stood before them.
Silence.
Neither Noah nor Damien spoke for several seconds.
They simply stared at the overwhelming sight.
Finally Noah slowly exhaled.
"...Fuck."
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